Neon Lies - Neon Lies

After spending a ton of cash on synthwave vinyl this weekend, I was happy to receive a digital version of Neon Lies' self titled limited edition cassette at no cost except for the time it will take  to complete this review. After sampling through a few songs my curiosity was at a dangerous level. This level usually means buy everything physical the newly discovered artist is selling on their sites. So much for not spending even more money this weekend, I bought 2 copies of the cassette for myself and my friend. At least the tapes were reasonably priced being from Neon Lies' home country of Croatia to mine in the US. 

Neon Lies bio describes the band as a blend of Suicide and The Screamers. I feel that's fairly accurate. You only need to hear the first two tracks that kick off this killer release 'Life Support' and 'Safe Room' to feel transported back to the tantalizing synthy swirls of Suicide's punk influence that we heard on the first album with tracks like 'Ghost Rider', and 'Girl' that confused and ultimately pissed punks off in the late 70's when they heard these synthetic sounds embedded into the music. Needless to say, Suicide became a pioneer in the evolution of punk music and beyond. Goran Lautar the man behind the Neon Lies project belts out dystopian Vega-esque shrieks set to raw lo-fi distorted synths fuzzing out the track laced with a shit ton of hostile sonic thrashing. So the Suicide reference is a great starting point for those unable to listen for yourself at the moment which I find hilarious since every one of you probably has smartphone access or some other way of getting on to Bandcamp at a moment's notice. Anyway, moving on with tunes. Towards the later part of the album tracks like 'Woods' and 'Sex Without Faces' continue the audition to be one of my favorite releases so far this year with more raw minimal vicious energy penetrating the very fabric of Goran's programming and performance. Neon Lies sound is a throw back to the elder's days when counter-culture and subversive music went head on against the mainstream. Goran takes that sound and that ethos and builds it into his Neon Lies project. There is plenty of material here that demonstrates the project's creativity which not only gives a nod to revelry but shows how to take things that influence the artist and shape it into something wonderful.

The blurred crossroads of the past and present meet and find a common convergence point on Neon Lies' self-titled cassette making this a must have for minimal synth, dark wave and synth punk lovers!
Feb 27 2017